The Promise of Bitcoin and The Fallacy of 'Coin'

One cool Chicago evening in the fall of 2010 I was grabbing drinks with four friends. The El was right above us and would intermittently interrupt our conversation. One of the chaps, slightly drunk, suggested we pool resources to buy servers and 'mine' some Bitcoins. In my sober state (I don't drink alcohol) all I saw was a drunken friend coming up with a crazy idea and so I ignored him. I'm now starting to think that was one of my biggest financial mistakes ever because, say what you will, Bitc...